As Beaufort County students arrived for their first day back at school on Tuesday, one educator at Washington High School was preparing for her first day as a new teacher.

Abigail Shuford, who is originally from Statesville, is now the high school’s band and chorus director, and it’s her first job since graduating from Western Carolina University in May with a bachelor’s degree in music education.

Starting a new job can be daunting, but Shuford is taking it all in stride and said she is more excited than anything, despite the adjustment that goes along with stepping into a position of authority.

“I know I always kind of wanted to go into (music since) middle school,” she said. “I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Shuford said music has been one of her passions for years, but the desire to be a teacher was sparked after participating in Teacher Cadets in high school.

One of her main goals stepping into the program at Washington High is to grow the numbers of the marching band, perhaps reaching a total of 80 students in the next four years, and to maintain the strength of the choirs.

“I know they brought me in to build the program, and that’s what I want to do,” Shuford said. “I think just keeping the numbers up, especially with the director change. … I think retention is just a big challenge.”

She said she has a lot of experience with band — participating in the marching band for all four years in college — but chorus is new territory for her.

Before planning concerts and music repertoire for chorus, she has to first assess each student’s singing ability and then wants to get input on what the class is interested in performing, she said.

But that can be more difficult, as each student is at a different level. Shuford said she will have to learn how to create lesson plans to accommodate all levels of learning.

“I’m not really familiar with chorus, so I decided to take a risk,” she said. “The first day is just kind of getting to know your students. … I like it. I’m having fun; so are they.”

The Washington community enjoys having an active music program that is out and about, so Shuford said she intends to build that community relationship and welcomes performance offers. She is especially looking forward to bringing out the marching band on Friday nights to support the Pam Pack football team.

“I do like having support from the community, especially building a program,” she said, adding that she wants parents to be involved as well. “You can just express yourself through music in so many ways.”

“I wasn’t really as nervous as I was excited just to get it started,” Shuford said. “I just want them to have fun.”